Rome's Zen of Up Your Yin Yang

Teachers of the English languagein Italian schools are to have their numbers reduced in the latest austerity measures announced by the ministry of education. In the province of Rome it is reported that numbers are to drop from 445 to 98, according to a report in the Rome edition of Italy’s most reliable daily, Corriere della Sera. According to the article the association of independent schools in Lazio (ASAL), which represents 376 institutions, has written to the parents of its students informing them of the serious educational consequences of the 78 per cent decrease in the number of specialist teachers. Corriere della Sera also reports that the president of ASAL, Paolo Mazzoli, has highlighted concerns over what he described as the “progressive elimination” of qualified English teachers in the province’s primary schools, and the subsequent ad hoc approach to covering English classes, often by teachers unqualified to teach the language.

On 20 May, the parents of children attending Scuola Di Donato in the Manzoni area of Rome are planning a demonstration at the Lazio office of regional schools on nearby Via Luigi Pianciani in protest against the ministry’s cuts.